Mark my words. Survivor: Tocantins will go down as one of your favorite Survivor seasons. I know I've said that about other seasons in the past and check the records, haven't I usually been right? Some seasons I'm not sure how the audience will react, so I say nothing, but when I'm sure, I scream it.

This is me screaming: YES! YES! YES! Say it with me. YES! YES! YES! Yes is my new favorite word. Life is so much more fun when you just let go of your fears and say ''YES'' to whatever. Don't believe me? Try it. Today, just say ''YES'' to everything that comes your way. Let me know how it goes.

Okay, so to episode one. Well, here's something I was dead wrong about. I never thought Carolina would be first out. In fact, I thought she could go a long way. I was way off on that one. Too bad, we always seem to lose a cute girl early. What is wrong with these people? Don't they realize this is their show? They should get rid of the ugly and boring people and keep the attractive and entertaining ones. Like Sydney. Please don't turn around and vote out Sydney next week. Carolina may not have understood how to play Survivor but I'm sure there are a few fans already missing her. Whatever. I get paid either way.

While we're here, let's start the blindside tally. That's the first of what will be a record-setting season of blindsides.

I loved our opening twist. We on the Survivor creative team were all rather proud when we stumbled upon the simple but effective notion of ''first impressions'' as an episode 1 twist. In fact, if I remember correctly, we all downed a case of Brazilian beer as a toast to ourselves. The twist worked and it plays out for quite a while.

Sandy and Sierra are clearly still in trouble as a result of the first impression vote, but you have to admit, it's amazing that neither of them were the first person voted out, all things considered. I think Sandy took a risky approach – clearly selfish and probably based on the fact that she feels a bit ''odd woman out'' due to age. Sierra impressed me with her desire to instantly try to win back favor on her tribe by working hard on the shelter. I think it worked. Hard work and the ability to say... ''YES''... can get you a long way in life. I bet Sierra wins the whole thing! Ka-ching! Either that or she'll fall in love with a Survivor producer and make cute little Survivor babies. I still get paid either way.

''And now here's something we think you'll really enjoy!'' (Can anyone name that cartoon character?) We have something very special for you fans this season, it's a new Survivor philosophy, you might even call it a religion of sorts. IT goes by the name Coach. Stay open to IT. Stay open to Coach. Beautiful things may emerge if you just open your arms and accept what Coach can offer you. Salvation? I doubt it. Great laughs? Absolutely. Coach is a star. He was meant to be on Survivor. I only wish we could clone him. I'm already pushing CBS to do another All-Star season just so we can have him back. Plus, my friend Serena already likes Coach, so there's that.

We have so many great characters this season. I'd list some of them but that would just irritate the ones I left off. Oh who cares, like I said, I get paid either way. Okay, in no particular order: Tyson, J.T., Steven, Sierra, Brendan, Taj, Sandy, Debbie, Spencer, Erinn. Yes I know you are already wondering if that means these people last a long time. Guess you'll have to watch to find out...and maybe I left one or two off the list just to throw you off. Maybe. You never know. Especially when I write this blog late at night, I get lippy and sometimes I just say things that simply aren't true.

And let's just get this out of the way, for all the Survivor: Tocantins participants, don't take these blogs too seriously. I only mean half of what I say. The other half of what I feel, I never share at all. It's all just fun. I love you all equally. But mostly Coach.

Next week, Exile Island comes into play. Cue Probst dramatic voice: ''This year, we have the most desolate and unforgiving Exile Island ever.'' Okay, I've said that before too, but this time it really is! You'll see.

Plus, there is a twist on Exile that creates some interesting reality...I won't spoil it, but if only we had thought of this idea a few seasons ago, we'd be crushing American Idol in the ratings. Oh relax, Seacrest, I'm kidding. You guys are still the king. Whatever. Blah, blah, blah. I still get paid...just not nearly as much as you, Ryan. That does bother me a little bit. I'll admit it. I mean I don't do Survivor for the money, but when I see Ryan's house I do get a bit envious. It's a pretty cool house. Then again, he's a cool dude, so I just say ''YES'' and move on with my still glorious life.

It's 2 a.m. as I'm writing this and honestly these blogs are a bit like therapy for me, only $150 an hour cheaper. So far I've saved $50.

Okay is that enough for this first episode blog? Serena says, ''Yes, baby, it's enough already. Come to bed, it's late.'' Ah the imagination. It's a terrible thing to waste.

So be it. To bed I go. Talk next week. Share your comments and as always I'll respond as time allows.

Mark my words. Survivor: Tocantins will go down as one of your favorite Survivor seasons.

Usually true. But that means Coach has huge chances of winning. Not my favourite.

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While we're here, let's start the blindside tally. That's the first of what will be a record-setting season of blindsides.

I'm expecting blindsides every week from now then. GREAT!

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Steven, Sierra, Brendan, Taj, Sandy, Debbie, Spencer, Erinn

Funny, how these are the few people with memorable screentimes in episode 1, and also highlighted by Jeff. Maybe he left out Tyson on purpose cause it's obvious.. but i already liked the ones he mentioned.. and i'm really looking forward to this season. If Jeff mentioned them and he said this was going to be a favourite season.. then i supposed one of them win?

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

First things first. Did you see our ratings? We went up from last year's premiere! That doesn't happen. Television ratings are crumbling all around us as the networks scramble to figure out how to combat DVR's, kids watching on computers, and iPhones and the like. So when something like this happens to a show in its 18th season, it's big news! And it's all because of you — our loyal viewers. So on behalf of the entire crew and CBS, I say thank you for your amazing support.

Okay, on to the episode. I gotta mention it. Another blindside. We're 2 for 2 and I love it. Candace never saw it coming. I hated losing Candace. She was bound to provide lots of spark around camp. But Candace, you picked a fight with the wrong guy....

You picked on Coach! Nobody picks on Coach. He's a symphony conductor for crying out loud. He's a maestro! You don't mess with maestros! They're known for their Scorpio-like ''get even'' mentality. You stung him and he stung you back. Torch snuff. Bye-bye. Just like that, Candace is out.

I am imagining Candace reading this right now and she is either...smiling and laughing along with me or...she is calling lovely Corinne from last season and asking her for the address of my house and instructions on how to light a Molotov cocktail. Ah, what the heck, go for it. I'm insured.

I love it when the Survivors eat grubs. It takes me back to Season 1 when we had a challenge in which they had to race to eat grubs and Gervase couldn't get his down. Ah yes, season 1. The good ole days. Back when I wore those silly safari clothes and said really corny things like ''fire represents life.'' Thank goodness those days are gone. Boy, was I a loser. I'm so much cooler now. Whew.

I have a question – do you think that Taj revealed she was the wife of Eddie George because she believes that honesty is the best policy? Or do you think she absolutely loves telling people ''I'm married to Eddie George, Heisman trophy winner at Ohio State and former NFL football star!'' I'm guessing the latter. But to be honest, I'd brag, too, if I was married to Eddie George. Heck, I'd pull a Heidi Klum and tattoo Eddie's name on my forearm. Yes, Heidi has a tattoo of her husband's name, ''Seal,'' on her forearm. That beautiful supermodel forearm with a huge tat of the word ''Seal.'' It's there. I know. I saw it. Yep. I've seen Heidi's naked forearm. Lots of times, in fact.

The problem with Taj's revelation is that you give people a reason to vote you out. Taj just shouted at the top of her lungs – ''I don't need the money! I'm already rich!!!'' That could be costly.

How great was that challenge? It was physical, it was in the water (which means bikini's), and...it was pouring rain! I mean it was dumping! Here's a fact I've never admitted before. I secretly pray for rain every time we do a challenge. I love it when it rains. Not just because it turns me on a little bit, but also because it adds so much to the look and play of a Survivor challenge. It amps up the drama, it makes the shots look that much ''cooler,'' and like I said, I just like being wet. Anytime it's raining, just know that I'm happy...and yes, a bit turned on. Is that wrong? Or weird? I recently had to take a required sexual harassment course and I'm pretty sure merely writing that last sentence constitutes sexual harassment on some level. Sorry if I've offended.

A lot of people ask me, ''Why do you only do one challenge in the early episodes?'' The reason is because we want to have more time in the show for you to get to know the personalities of our Survivors. We figure in episodes 1 and 2 we can build one big challenge, make it epic, and that will allow us a few more minutes in the show to focus on the Survivors. Question: Do you like that or would you prefer 2 challenges in every single episode?

Speaking of getting to know the Survivors — my two favorite people this week are:

From Timbira — Sierra. She's a fighter and I like that. Wouldn't that be weird if Sierra ended up married to a Survivor producer? How random would that be?

From Jalapao — J.T. He's a great leader and he's playing humble. But I don't buy it for a second. J.T. is a bona fide threat in this game.

It's only episode 2 and trust is already playing a big part in the game. It's what makes this game so difficult to play but so fun to watch...ultimately you have to trust someone in order to survive, but conversely you really can't trust anyone if you want to survive! So what do you do? You have to trust people who are untrustworthy, and then you have to cut them loose before they cut you loose. It's like learning Russian. Very complicated.

One of my favorite moments of the episode was the ''fire pit'' cover-up. It was a great lie. Quick thinking. I absolutely love those kinds of moments. The key to it all was Debbie. All you need is one person to validate your lie and you're set, and let's face it, you can't get better than a middle school principal to endorse your lie! Debbie bought it hook, line, and sinker, and she was no doubt watching tonight's episode and laughing herself silly. Debbie has a pretty good sense of humor.

I would love to know why Brendan chose Taj. I would have never guessed that and never dreamed he would share the Exile information with her. But it was an interesting move and now we have the potential for an alliance that could wreak havoc later in the game.

The other relationship I am starting to enjoy is that of J.T. and Stephen. They couldn't be more opposite and yet they seem to be clicking fairly well.

Okay, time for me to go to bed.

Hang in there with me on these blogs. It's been a very busy past few weeks for me, and so I haven't had as much time for these blogs as I'd like. But I'm committed to posting something every week, so I just ask for a bit of understanding if they're not always everything you want them to be!!!

Give a break to Phil, he's blogging for the first time! With time he will learn! I'm also looking foward to Survivor Talk on ew.com. Can't wait for those two to be funny again! Hope they bash Coachebag(many thanks to sucksters for this word).

Jeff gets talking about last night's ousted contestant right away, so click after the jump if you're not worried about spoilers.

Ah, poor Jerry. We all had such high hopes for him. This is an example of just bad luck. Jerry was a trooper and I think would have probably done a pretty good job of just hanging out in the middle of the pack allowing him to get deep in the game. Not sure if Jerry had enough killer instinct to win but would have loved to have seen him last a bit longer 'cause he was a good one.

The only person happy that Jerry is gone...? Erinn. She was very close to going home. Erinn needs to continue to recover or her name will come up again and again.

What can you say about the reward challenge other than this...blindfolds always work. In the bedroom and on Survivor. They always come through. So long as it’s consensual, blindfolds typically equal good times. Show of hands, how many people have used blindfolds at some point in their life? And...? Good results? (Right about now is the time a third of you will begin to write your comments to me complaining that I am too provocative. Save the carpal tunnel, it only encourages me.)

The reward challenge was a blow out. Not sure why I enjoyed seeing Timbira lose, but I did. They were so cocky, and Jalapao just came in and got it done. They’re the underdogs at this point and I always secretly root for the underdogs. But as we Survivor fans know... underdogs can quickly become cocky and then they become villains and then you root against them!

As evidence of how bad the crew living conditions were in Brazil, even I got envious at the Jalapao reward. Umbrella, chairs, hammock! I would have loved to have a large umbrella outside my little four-walled tent. I often feel that way about the food rewards, too. When the Survivors win something like cheeseburgers, trust me the entire crew is salivating. We don’t get cheeseburgers on location. We don’t get big thick pizzas or large chocolate cakes either. We do get beer. Thank goodness our crew loves their beer. It’s the only thing that keeps most of us from ending up in an insane asylum. Most of us.

This week's observation about Sierra: Sierra is like an annoying little sister that you constantly complain about but secretly love having around because there is just something about her you’d miss if she was gone. Timbira will miss Sierra if they get rid of her. She’s worth keeping even though she is annoying. Imagine living with Sierra. Oy vey.

Okay time for a moment:

Ext. Brazilian River - DayCoach stares into the water...contemplating.Tyson spits something, maybe a seed. It makes a small splash.Coach mumbles something insightful. It’s not a question. It’s a command. He’s Coach after all.Then...Coach (to Tyson): You’re like my assistant coach.

“You’re like my assistant coach.” Ah, thank you, reality gods. Beautiful. One of my favorite moments of the season. Coach laid out the perfect spiral pass and Tyson gently cradled it into his arms. For very different reasons, both these guys are solid gold.

Coach is without question one of the greatest Survivor characters ever. What’s your take on Coach? Love him? Love to hate him? Or just plain hate him? For the record Serena’s advice to Coach, “Just relax. Stop trying so hard. Just be yourself.” To which I reply, “He IS being himself! That’s what makes him so brilliant!

And then as if that wasn’t enough, another moment so good it’s as though it was scripted:

Ext. Jalapao Camp – Day

Spencer, young and single, lies on his side trying to sleep. Sandy, considerably older and also single, snuggles up next to him. Uncomfortably close. Hands searching. Surprisingly Spencer doesn’t seem to mind. Sandy musses her hair with a sexy toss of the hand.

Sandy: I know I’m a sex kitten.

Whoa. That made me incredibly uncomfortable. I had to stop the TIVO and rewind it. No offense, Sandy, (although as my friend Lopez says, whenever you say that, you actually mean the opposite) but that was just plain uncomfortable and in some states probably illegal. Is Spencer even 18 years old?

J.T. and Steven fishing together. It’s a bit like A River Runs Through It. Nice. I like it. But is it just me or do you get the idea that J.T. is the kind of guy who if you so much as looked at his girlfriend in a bar, he’d break your nose and then finish your beer. He seems very pleasant but I’m guessing that he’s broken a few noses.

"Iron sharpens iron." Now that is a great line. Tell me...tell me! Where else on television can you find that kind of writing? Nowhere, I say. Nowhere. Only on Survivor: Tocantins...starring Coach!

Coach is not gold. Coach is platinum. Remember when you were a kid and you'd wake up irritated that you had to go to school, and then you realized...wait a minute, it's Saturday, I don't have to go anywhere. It was such a satisfying feeling. Well, that's the feeling I get every time I see or hear Coach on our show.

On any other season Tyson would be the guy I was raving about, but I just can't say enough about Coach. It's like being any other great golfer when Tiger Woods is playing.

I know you guys like insight, so here's a little Insight: Right now every other contestant on this season is reading this blog and they are sooooo mad at me for continuing to talk about Coach, the least liked person on the show. They want me to talk about them. Erinn wants me to talk about her incredible sex appeal. Brendan wants me to talk about how smart he was for creating "Bare Naked Granola" and making millions (yep he did). Taj wants me to talk about how good she looks...for her age...(ha, sorry Taj). Stephen wishes I would comment on his enormous brain. And Sierra – oh well, you get my point. All I can say to that is, sorry. Not my problem. As an audience member I just think Coach is hilarious.

Further evidence to support my point: "When you look at me and you look at Brendan, who looks stronger? I do." I mean, come on! In the words of Vince Vaughn, "Coach, you're so money."

I'm telling you right now that if they hadn't already signed their rights away to be on Survivor, I'd march Coach, Tyson and Sierra into CBS and sell the first hybrid sitcom/reality show...and you would all watch.

Taj is growing on me. Wasn't so sure about her the first few days but she's growing on me. Don't get me wrong, she can still be a pain in the ass, but I like her. I also want to stay on the good side of Eddie George.

"I might have just stumbled backwards into a huge alliance." Oh yes, you did, Stephen. A huge alliance. Keep an eye on that one. Stephen is great at playing the "one step behind bumbling goofball." Dude is wicked smart.

The reward challenge is one of my all time favorites. We haven't done this in a while. We did it in season 2 in Australia with Colby and Michael. We did it in Pearl Islands with Rupert and Andrew Savage (who got robbed when we did the Outcasts). This season J.T. was a workhorse, tying the record that Rupert set at 220 lbs. But ultimately it came down Debbie and Taj who were very impressive. In the end, Taj put those beautiful broad shoulders to work and pulled it out for Jalapao.

Insight: Mark Burnett absolutely hates it when contestants from opposite tribes congratulate each other after a challenge. Typically I do my best to make sure this doesn't happen but when Taj went over to hug Debbie at the end of the reward challenge it just felt right to let them do it. Fortunately Mark wasn't on location so he couldn't get mad at me, and he probably won't read this blog so he can't get mad that I'm sharing one of his pet peeves. And let's be honest, when you have a house in Malibu you really aren't entitled to any pet peeves anymore anyway.

J.T. is a major threat to win this game. Way too likable, way too smart, way too physical.

Tyson: "It felt a little weird having...those two... guys from the other tribe come over...in the back of your mind you're thinking...I wanna punch these guys in the head." Okay, Tyson, you have earned your way into the full on Gold category. If we do an all-stars, you definitely get my vote. 100%.

Sandy: (referring to Sydney) "If they're gonna be voting you off, you better be pulling off more than a bra. You better be pulling off some panties or somethun."

You have got to be kidding me. Who says that? Sandy, step on up, you too are now part of the Gold family and we are so happy to have you!

While we're at it, it's time to give Sierra some well-deserved credit. Not only is she still in the game, but she is now locked into an alliance that has the potential to go all the way.

It's also time to give our challenge department some props. The immunity challenge was pretty damn ingenious. A three-sided puzzle with multiple possibilities to confuse the tribes but only one correct phrase. You try coming up with something like that. Our guys are really good.

Tribal Council was so fun! I love it when we get into some good juicy stuff! Let's address the elephant in the room: Sydney is absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure that it comes across on screen like it does in person but.... INSIGHT: The crew referred to her as Helen of Troy because literally everybody would stop their work when she walked into a challenge or tribal council. It's true. Now, Taj is a beautiful woman as well, but she's married and she's older so she's not going to get the same attention as Sydney. That definitely caused some friction. How could it not? Taj sees that someone like Sydney could go deep in the game simply by giving backrubs and staying out of the way. And as for flirting – I wouldn't say Sydney was that big of a flirt. The truth about men and women is that all it takes for a man to think a woman is interested in him is for her to say "hi." I don't know if Sydney has a boyfriend back home or not, but if so, he needn't worry. She wasn't "pulling down some panties or somethun."

Okay. Finally, we must lay to rest...crazy ole Sandy. I gotta say, I don't know that I agree with Sandy's logic but for a kooky lady she's not as dumb as she sounds. She is annoying though. Let's be clear. She was annoying. What makes her likable is she can't help that she's annoying. She doesn't mean to be. She's just being herself.

Sandy, I'm sooooooo sorry you are gone. Man, oh man. Such a loss. You were a delight to have on the show and I know I called you annoying but it doesn't mean I don't have mad love for you.

Last words — U2 has been on Letterman all week and they are tearing it up. Talk to ya next week.

Insight: Mark Burnett absolutely hates it when contestants from opposite tribes congratulate each other after a challenge. Typically I do my best to make sure this doesn't happen but when Taj went over to hug Debbie at the end of the reward challenge it just felt right to let them do it. Fortunately Mark wasn't on location so he couldn't get mad at me, and he probably won't read this blog so he can't get mad that I'm sharing one of his pet peeves. And let's be honest, when you have a house in Malibu you really aren't entitled to any pet peeves anymore anyway.

Probably wants to turn Survivor into a show with just animosity? When Taj went to hug Deb, that was probably one of the most heart warming Survivor moments.

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Looks like Jeff Probst has learned a thing or two about survival during his nine years snuffing out tiki torches.

At tonight's Academy of Magical Arts Awards ceremony in Hollywood (hosted by Neil Patrick Harris), we witnessed as the Survivor host caught a camerawoman who suddenly suffered a seizure as he answering questions for her media outlet.

"She fell into my arms, basically," Jeff told us exclusively right after the incident. "She had a seizure and she didn't know it. When she came back to she said, ‘I'm fine,' and she had no idea. Then she had another one."

When the woman suffered her second seizure, Jeff jumped into action again, catching her, holding her and lowering her to the ground. A few minutes later, she came to and tried to get up, and Jeff held her head steady and explained that she needed to stay put until the ambulance arrived. He stayed with her until medical personnel arrived at the scene.

So what does Jeff have to say about this gallant display?

"I think anybody would react to that," he told us humbly tonight. "That's just another person in trouble. Anybody would do that. It's amazing how quickly you can get into trouble."

As for the current season of Survivor (Tocantins), Jeff promises more twists and turns coming our way. "There's a record number of blindsides this year, which is always fun. There's more tribal councils where people don't know they're going home and they get zapped than we ever had before." He also is excited about the final outcome."[We have] a really good finish, one of the best winners we've had in a really long time."

Going out on a limb here and "guessing" Spencer. He's young, likeable and really glad he got to be on the show. I think his tribemates all like him. If not him then JT. Likeable, good in challenges, hard worked and plays well with others. Probably not someone who doesn't need the money though. The rich get richer in real life we don't need to see it on a reality show. If Tyson is just biding his time and were to be directly responsible for blindsiding Coach I could be happy with him winning.

Hmm, did I read somewhere in JP's blog that as an audience he loves Coach? If he assumes that the audience loves Coach, he could be the winner. Hopefully not. I'm guessing J.T. Not that he's a favourite of mine now, but as JP said, he's smart (haven't seen that), strong and very likeable.

Hmm, did I read somewhere in JP's blog that as an audience he loves Coach? If he assumes that the audience loves Coach, he could be the winner. Hopefully not. I'm guessing J.T. Not that he's a favourite of mine now, but as JP said, he's smart (haven't seen that), strong and very likeable.

But he's wrong, everywhere i go people hate Coach.

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Hmm, did I read somewhere in JP's blog that as an audience he loves Coach? If he assumes that the audience loves Coach, he could be the winner. Hopefully not. I'm guessing J.T. Not that he's a favourite of mine now, but as JP said, he's smart (haven't seen that), strong and very likeable.

As for JT being smart lets go back to day 1. They're reading the map and JT takes the lead - they reach camp in daylight. Coach takes the lead for his tribe and it is well after dark when they arrive. Score 1 for JT.